VICTIMS of crime are facing a ‘wait for justice’ after new figures showed a steep fall in the number of criminal cases that have gone from caution to verdict in six months.

According to the monthly criminal justice monitoring data, published by the Scottish Government on Monday, just 39 per cent of cases were dealt with within 26 weeks, down from 60 per cent over the same period last year. 

Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Jamie Greene said the figures were “a damning indictment of the SNP Government’s failure to tackle delays throughout Scotland’s justice system.”

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems warned it could lead to victims "losing faith" in the system.

The “end to end system indicator” which calculates the percentage of summary criminal cases which have gone from caution and charge to verdict within 26 weeks, shows a drop from 40 per cent in February, and 44 per cent in January. 

The last time figures fell to 39 per cent was in July 2021.

Police charges being received by the Procurator Fiscal within 28 days is also at a record low. The same data state that in February and March 2022, just 62 per and 64 per cent of police caution and charge reports to the Procurator Fiscal were received within 28 days. 

These are the lowest two figures on record, beating the previous low of 65 per cent recorded in January 2021. 

Mr Greene said: “The fact that more than three in five victims of crime are having wait over six months for justice should be a source of shame for the SNP Government.

“We already know that the courts were told by the SNP Government that justice is not a priority and that’s borne out by these figures.

“Victims of crime deserve to know that their case is being handled as quickly as possible, yet the SNP short-changed the courts in their most recent budget, hindering efforts to get through this court backlog swiftly.

 “The SNP Government simply must get a grip on this issue, put an end to these delays which are letting victims of crime down and give our courts the funding they desperately need.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur said: "These figures will mean more sleepless nights for victims of crime.

"The pandemic has had an enormously disruptive impact on our justice system. But this is much worse than it needed to be because a backlog was building for years before the pandemic struck.

"Long delays mean that memories fade and victims lose faith, making it harder to ensure that justice is done.

"Both the police and the courts system are being undermined by a Scottish Government which refuses to get serious about the problem.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“The Scottish Government are supporting justice agencies to take action to address the court backlog, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, in common with many legal sectors worldwide.

“In 2021/22, £50m was provided for justice recovery, which has increased the system’s capacity, put in place more effective processes and improved support for victims and witnesses.

"A further £53.2m is being provided in 2022/23 for recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system as we emerge from the pandemic.

“The recently-published vision for justice prioritises victims’ needs, and work is continuing with justice partners to mitigate the impact of the backlog on victims, for example through continuing work on the pre-recording of evidence for vulnerable witnesses.”